Bridgehampton Chamber Music Festival Returns For 2021

After a year of “quiet stages” and online programs, the Bridgehampton Chamber Music Festival, Long Island’s longest-running classical music festival, is back in business for live, in-person performances this summer.

The 2021 festival will present 13 concerts from August 4 to 22 at its regular venues — the Bridgehampton Presbyterian Church (the festival’s home), as well as the Parrish Art Museum and the Channing Sculpture Garden at Channing Daughters Winery.

Bridgehampton Chamber Music’s 38th annual season is not a complete return to its prepandemic configuration: the festival comprises eight hourlong programs performed without intermission, five of which have repeat performances. Seating and capacity will be set, and updated if need be, to comply with state and local guidelines.

“We are so happy we can once again open our doors and share the joy of live music-making after a long year of quiet stages,” said BCM founder and Artistic Director Marya Martin. “It’s been a difficult year for so many, so this summer we are presenting some of chamber music’s most beloved and life-affirming works.”

The festival opens with “Composer Portrait: Bach’s Chaconne” featuring celebrated violinist Jennifer Koh and renowned author and actor Alan Alda, narrator. This program is devoted to this single movement of J.S. Bach’s Partita No. 2 for Solo Violin that is one of the most cherished works in the classical canon. Koh performs the entire Partita, and Alda, a longtime friend to BCM, tells the work’s story.

Other program highlights include an arrangement by Martin of Mozart’s A Little Night Music for winds and strings; Beethoven’s arrangements of traditional folk songs; excerpts from Vivaldi’s The Four Seasons and Astor Piazzolla’s The Four Seasons of Buenos Aires; Tchaikovsky’s Souvenir de Florence; Schubert’s Cello Quintet; and Brahms’s Piano Quartet No. 1. The season also includes the world premiere of a BCM commission: Seasons of Our Time, a work for flute, violins, viola, cello, bass, and harpsichord by Eric Ewazen.

The festival’s annual benefit, a concert with cocktails and dinner, and the annual Wm. Brian Little Concert, an event held at the Channing Sculpture Garden with wine and hors d’oeuvres, will go on as well — both events abiding by the health guidelines of their respective venues.

Led by flutist and festival founder Martin, this summer’s BCM musicians are James Austin Smith, oboe; Yasmina Spiegelberg, clarinet; Peter Kolkay, bassoon; Stewart Rose, horn; Benjamin Beilman, Stella Chen, Frank Huang, Ani Kavafian, Jennifer Koh, Tessa Lark, Kristin Lee, Amy Schwartz Moretti, and Tien-Hsin Cindy Wu, violin; Ettore Causa, Haesue Lee, Matthew Lipman, Cynthia Phelps, and Cong Wu, viola; Carter Brey, Clive Greensmith, Mihai Marica, Peter Stumpf, and Paul Watkins, cello; Xavier Foley and Donald Palma, bass; Michael Brown, Henry Kramer, and Gilles Vonsattel, piano; Kenneth Weiss, harpsichord; and Gregory Feldmann, baritone.

In addition to its summer, season, Bridgehampton Chamber Music is offering a new component — BCM Autumn. Before the pandemic, plans were in place to inaugurate the new miniseries in the fall of 2020. When the three concerts of the annual BCM Spring series could not take place last year, they were rescheduled as the fall series — and then were replaced by online events. This year, Bridgehampton Chamber Music will launch BCM Autumn as a three-concert series.

“It is particularly gratifying to expand our activities — to grow,” Martin said, “after the year we’ve all had.”

Bridgehampton Chamber Music has a wide variety of performance videos from past seasons posted on its website, and its YouTube channel features the online programs created during the past year. To access past performances or purchase tickets for this season, visit bcmf.org.

“Composer Portrait: Bach’s Chaconne”

Wednesday, August 4, at 5 and 7 p.m.

Bridgehampton Presbyterian Church

J. S. Bach — Partita in D minor for Violin, BWV 1004

Alan Alda, narrator; Jennifer Koh, violin

Tickets: $65, $45 ($10 students)

Annual Benefit: “Joy in Gathering”

Saturday, August 7, at 6:30 p.m.

Concert, cocktails and dinner. Location to be announced

W. A. Mozart (arr. M. Martin) — Eine Kliene Nachtmusik (A Little Night Music) for Winds and Strings, K. 525

Louis Spohr — Nonet in F major for Winds and Strings, Op. 31

Marya Martin, flute; James Austin Smith, oboe; Yasmina Spiegelberg, clarinet; Peter Kolkay, bassoon; Stewart Rose, horn; Ani Kavafian, violin; Tien-Hsin Cindy Wu, violin; Cynthia Phelps, viola; Clive Greensmith, cello; Donald Palma, bass

Individual benefit tickets: $1,500, $2,000. For information, call Michael Lawrence at 212-741-9073.

“A Lotta Night Music”

Sunday, August 8, at 5 and 7 p.m.

Bridgehampton Presbyterian Church

W. A. Mozart (arr. Martin) — Eine Kleine Nachtmusik (A Little Night Music) for Winds and Strings, K. 525

Ludwig Thuille — Sextet for Piano and Winds in B-flat major, Op. 6

Marya Martin, flute; James Austin Smith, oboe; Yasmina Spiegelberg, clarinet; Peter Kolkay, bassoon; Stewart Rose, horn; Ani Kavafian, violin; Tien-Hsin Cindy Wu, violin; Cynthia Phelps, viola; Clive Greensmith, cello; Donald Palma, bass; Michael Brown, piano

Tickets: $65, $45 ($10 students)

“Schubert’s Cello Quintet”

Wednesday, August 11, at 5 and 7 p.m.

Bridgehampton Presbyterian Church

Jean-Baptiste Barrière — Sonata X for Two Cellos

Franz Schubert — Cello Quintet in C major, D. 956

Frank Huang, violin; Kristin Lee, violin; Matthew Lipman, viola; Carter Brey, cello; Paul Watkins, cello

Tickets: $65, $45 ($10 students)

“Beethoven & Brahms”

Sunday, August 15, at 5 and 7 p.m.

Bridgehampton Presbyterian Church

Ludwig van Beethoven Folksongs for Baritone, Flute, Violin, Cello, and Piano

Johannes Brahms — Piano Quartet No. 1 in G Minor, Op. 25

Marya Martin, flute; Henry Kramer, piano; Amy Schwartz Moretti, violin; Ettore Causa, viola; Mihai Marica, cello; Gregory Feldmann, baritone

Tickets: $65, $45 ($10 students)

“BCMF @ the Parrish”

Tuesday, August 17, 2021, at 6:30pm

Parrish Art Museum

Luigi Boccherini — Quintet for Flute and Strings in F major

Peter Ilyich Tchaikovsky —Souvenir de Florence in D minor, Op. 70

Marya Martin, flute; Benjamin Beilman, violin; Tessa Lark, violin; Haesue Lee, viola; Ettore Causa, viola; Mihai Marica, cello; Peter Stumpf, cello

Tickets: $65, $45 ($10 students)

“Wm. Brian Little Concert: Seasons Upon Seasons”

Friday, August 20, at 6 p.m. — wine and hors d’oeuvres

Channing Sculpture Garden

Eric Ewazen — Seasons of Our Time for Flute, Violins, Viola, Cello, Bass, and Harpsichord (BCM commission; World Premiere)

Antonio Vivaldi “Spring” and “Summer” from The Four Seasons, Op. 8

Astor Piazzolla — “Fall” and “Winter” from Las Cuatro Estaciones Porteñas (The Four Seasons of Buenos Aires)

Marya Martin, flute; Benjamin Beilman, violin; Stella Chen, violin; Tessa Lark, violin; Cong Wu, viola; Peter Stumpf, cello; Xavier Foley, bass; Kenneth Weiss, harpsichord

Tickets: $175

bcmf.org/product-page/wm-brian-little-concert-seasons-upon-seasons

“Season Finale — Uplift and Romance”

Sunday, August 22, at 5 and 7 p.m.

Bridgehampton Presbyterian Church

Nino Rota — Trio for Flute, Violin, and Piano

Max Bruch — Piano Quintet

Tickets: $65, $45 ($10 students)